The Rose Cafe
by RippedPaperStars
Summary: Modern AU! Scarlet Johnson is a small town girl,with dreams of being an artist and visiting the ocean with her boyfriend Armin. The only problem is money. This is the story of the two years that changed her life. ((OC POV,OOC. Please be gentle with it.))
1. Chapter 1

Rose Café was a tiny little shop on the edge of town,widely known for it's expert coffee and tea maker,Laura Johnson. Laura didn't take many employee interviews,as the store was family owned. Only two people that aren't a Johnson are allowed to work there.

And the shop was about to close for the day.

Scarlet Johnson rubbed the counter more,trying to get off the last few spots. She remembered with a jolt that she didn't turn the open sign to closed. As she walked across the royal blue tile floor,she heard a crash from upstairs,followed by a yell of anguish from her older sister.

"Jesus,cat! Behave for once! " Laura screamed,the sound muffled from the floor.

Laura screamed something else,but Scarlet stopped listening. She flipped the sign over,glad that she was done serving whiny adults and stupid teens coffee for the day.

It was only six in the afternoon,but Laura didn't want Scarlet to have to serve a drunkard or some other creeper in the night.

But that was Laura being hypocritical. She drank more than anyone in this godforsaken town.

When she got the chance.

Scarlet threw her apron down on a table,and set to cleaning the floors with a mop. It was tiring work,but she liked how the floor looked like the ocean while she was mopping.

The ocean.

Her heart ached at the thought. Armin,her boyfriend,was there now,finally. He left about three months ago. He sent her pictures every once in a while,but it wasn't the same as having him here with her.

Scarlet gripped the handle of the mop tighter. Memories flew into her head of the time she and Armin spent together before he went on his trip to California to see the ocean and everything there. Growing up poor,he never had the chance to travel. He said he was going to stay there for a while to prepare for his work as a marine biologist,then come back. He had invited the red head,but Laura wouldn't let her go.

Resent for the older girl replaced the longing feeling in her heart. Laura said she was too young to go across the country with a boy.

Laura acted rather like a mother ever sense...her real one ran off and left them with 10,000 dollars and a half empty bottle of Budweiser.

Scarlet threw the mop back into the closet,threw her apron back in after it,and sat down on the bottom step to her living area.

She laid her hands down on her lap,sighing. The orange fingernail polish she had put on three days ago was starting to chip away. Kidding herself into thinking this was interesting,she forgot about Armin for the moment being.

Suddenly,her phone rang from it's spot atop the counter. Scarlet groaned and stood up,brushing her blue jeans off for no apparent reason.

She clicked open the phone,looking at the retarded picture of her best friends on the screen.

Eren had a yellow duck hat on,while next to him,Scarlet had on a unicorn hat and Armin next to her had a penguin. Eren was making a peace sign in the photo,a smile wide on his tan face. Armin had a wide smile,waving to the camera.

Scarlet smiled fondly at the picture,then finally answered the phone call.

"Hey Scarlet." Eren said,his voice amused.

"Yo,Jaeger." Scarlet said,giggling a bit.

Scarlet could practically hear Eren's smile. "Did you hear about Dahlia? It's all over the news."

Scarlet's eyes narrowed. Ever sense her older brother and sister became international singing sensations,it was a feat when they weren't all over the news.

"No. Haven't. Been downstairs in the store all day." Scarlet sighed into the phone,walking upstairs,shutting the lights off downstairs.

"She's going into modeling. All of the news people are placing bets on how long it's going to last. Quite frankly,I don't think it's going to last long." Eren sighed,then moved,as rustling filled the speaker on the phone.

Scarlet rolled her eyes. For the love of god,Dahlia. First singing with Jean K. and now this? Modeling?

"Who the hell is she modeling for?" Scarlet asked,crossing the living room floor,where Laura was grappling Scarlet's black and grey cat for the feather duster.

"Cosm-What the hell is that sound? Sounds like Godzilla is in your living room."

Scarlet laughed,looking over to where her cat,Harlock,was hissing and growling at Laura,all while fiercely protecting the multi-colored duster. Scarlet sighed,reaching over and petting Harlock behind the ears,making him purr and release the duster. Laura glowered at Scarlet,plucking the duster from the shelf and throwing the door to the kitchen open.

Scarlet walked down the hall to her room,Harlock following her closely. She opened the door to the room,then said to Eren,"Nah. Harlock was just defending his duster."

Eren broke out into a fit of laughter,and then stopped after Scarlet heard a voice yell,"EREN JAEGER. SOME PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO WORK."

Eren laughed sheepishly,then said,"Dad's going to be home all this weekend. He's leaving on Monday,but Mom's basically MIA most of the time. I can't want until the old fart is gone."

Scarlet nodded. Eren's dad,Grisha,was not a pleasant man. Dahlia's career problems forgotten,Scarlet directed her anger towards Eren's father.

"Yeah. Remind me to punch his teeth out for you on Monday."

Eren sighed. "God,I wish."

Scarlet stayed on the phone for a while with Eren,while she at her desk and drew for a while. She drew anything that came to mind.

Grisha dead on the sidewalk,what she pictured her mother to look like,for the woman left when she was seven,Armin at the ocean with a stuffed fish,Eren at DragonCon,a flower. Anything.

Eren eventually had to hang up,considering the fact that they had stayed on the phone for three hours,and it was now nine o' clock.

Scarlet sat on her bed and looked out her tiny window,watching people go by on the street. Occasional cars. She didn't want to sleep yet. She wanted something to do.

'I'm a only teenager for a few more months...I need to indulge in my ability to stay up late while I can.' Scarlet thought. She sighed,changing into something to sleep in.

'I could always paint something for Armin and send it to him...' The red head thought,then flew off her bed when she realized that she could very well do that.

Hours flew by,until Scarlet had a hard time keeping her eyes open. She turned her digital clock to face her,and reveled in triumph as she read "1:00am."

The painting wasn't finished. Not by a long shot. But she could work more on it tomorrow. One in the morning was teenager-y enough for one night. Even Harlock was asleep on his cat bed in the corner. Scarlet clicked off the lamp in her room,and crossed blindly over to her bed,falling on it with a muffled groan into the covers. She rolled around,shuffling under the covers and closing her eyes. She felt a sudden weight on her bed,and looked up to find Harlock snuggled against her leg. Scarlet smiled.

"Just waiting until I went to bed to get up here,right Captain?" She said,petting behind his ears again. Scarlet moved her hand back to her pillow,closing her eyes again.


	2. The Book Store

Scarlet woke up to a yelling match going on in the big room. It wasn't really the family room anymore. Just the big room. She put Harlock down on the floor,then opened her door slightly. Dahlia was standing in the living room,towering over Laura in heels.

"I don't care about what you want! I don't want this place to become famous just because of your fucking career,Dahlia!" Laura yelled,her face red. "I want it to be famous for the good quality of it! And now you've gone and lead the paparazzi right to our goddamn house! Screw you. Get out."

Dahlia had tears streaming down her face. Too fake. Even Scarlet could tell. "You're a real jerk,Laura. I've always wanted to be a family woman,but here you are. Not letting me be with my family. Good riddance. Tell Scarlet I said bye."

And with that,Dahlia slammed the door and stormed down the steps.

Scarlet shut her door back,racing back over to her bed,where she unplugged her phone from the side plug-in,hoping someone had something to say to her.

She looked on the screen,and smiled.

[Jeager]: Hey,Red

[Jeager]: Wanna go to the bookstore or something? You could get something for Armin and send it to him.

[Jeager]: Crap. I'm sorry.

[Jeager]: I know Armin's kind of a touchy subject

[Jeager]: But still. Do you want to?

Scarlet sighed and smiled a bit before replying.

[Scarlet]: Of course,bro.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*..*.*..**..*.*.*.*.**.*..**.*..*.*.*.*.

Scarlet got dressed quickly,fed the cat,explained to an over-emotional Laura that she was going to be hanging out with Eren for the day. Laura asked about Mikasa,and if she and Scarlet where ever going to get along. Scarlet answered with a bitter,"Not likely."

Scarlet walked to the bookstore,texting Eren along the way. The boy was waiting for her outside the shop.

"You ready? My mom gave me like fifty bucks. She knows that you're...well..." Eren stopped,kicking his feet.

Scarlet rolled her eyes. "Yeah. We get by. Tell Carla I said thanks."

Eren nodded,eager to be free of the awkward subject of money. He stepped inside the cold store first,heading off to the fiction center with Scarlet.

He's been obsessed with this weird book series called, "Attack on Titan."

It was written by this short weirdo guy named Levi Ackerman. Eren practically worshiped the guy's writing.

Scarlet tried it a few times,but she stopped when Levi killed off her favorite female character. Well. Second favorite. That Hannah scientist woman was awesome.

Scarlet looked around with him,trying to help Eren find the new chapter. If it was out. Turns out,Levi Ackerman is a slow writer,and the next book wasn't out.

Eren looked glum after finding that out,but shrugged and looked around for something else. He laughed,throwing a book at Scarlet.

She read the title,and she had to admit. It was a little ridiculous.

Although,the back of the book with the description told her otherwise. This book sounded like something she'd enjoy. Maybe. If she ever got the time.

Scarlet nodded. "Sure. I'll get it."

Eren chuckled a bit,before stuffing his hands into his pockets and walking down the aisles of books.

About thirty minutes later,they left the store twenty dollars less than they had before.

Eren and Scarlet walked around the block for a while,stopping to get ice cream. It was freezing outside,but hey. Ice cream is ice cream.

Eren liked this really weird flavor called Zombie Fodder. It was cherry flavored ice cream with licorice pieces in it. Scarlet just liked vanilla.

They sat down inside the store,eating in silence for the longest time. Finally,Scarlet spoke up.

"You and Mikasa going to go see that band you like in concert next week?" She said,stirring her ice cream around in the bowl.

Eren looked up from his questionable ice cream with a jolt.

"The Garrison? Nah. Mika doesn't like them THAT much." He answered with a hefty,disappointed sigh.

Scarlet nodded. Understandable. Mikasa Ackerman didn't like much of anything. Except her scarf. Sometimes Scarlet wondered about where she wore that scarf. Did she sleep with it on? Did she wear it in the middle of summer? These questions burned themselves into Scarlet's brain for some obscure,unexplained reason.

Eren went home by himself from there.

Scarlet walked back home. She couldn't drive,and she sold her bike a long time ago to get a desk to draw on.

Opening the café door,she saw the boy who was working there on the weekends smile up at her.

"Marco? Was that his name? Eh. Who knows. He seems nice though." Scarlet thought,smiling back at him while heading towards the door to her living quarters.

Laura was asleep in her room,likely tired out from that morning's visit from Dahlia.

Opening the door to her room and falling over onto her bed,Scarlet stared at the ceiling. Harlock meowed,pawing at Scarlet's flashing phone.

4 missed calls.

All from Armin.

Scarlet quickly unlocked the phone,her heart beating wildly. Armin!

She called him back,staring at Harlock with wide eyes. The cat stared back,green eyes unamused as usual. Just like his namesake.

"Scarlet!" Armin's voice said on the other end of the line.

"A-Armin! Oh my god! I've missed you so much!" Scarlet said,curling up into the corner.

"I've missed you too. Way too much. But the ocean's beautiful,and I've seen so many things. I'm going to take you first chance I get." He said,his voice catching audibly.

Scarlet missed him so much that her heart felt like it was being ripped in two.

"I'd like that a lot,Armin. You know I've never been. W-When are you coming home?" She whispered the last part. She was scared of the answer.

"Next week hopefully. Then I..I've got a surprise for you." Armin answered.

Scarlet's eyes widened. Next week? This was too amazing to even think about.

"Okay! I'll be waiting! I love you so much!" Scarlet assured,trying not to cry from relief.

Armin answered,"I love you too! I'll see you next week,Scar. Love you!"

And with that,he hung up.

Scarlet stared at the phone,tears of relief streaming down her face now. Harlock nuzzled against her,purring a bit. "Ar's coming home,Harlock. He's coming home." Scarlet whispered. She needed to tell someone.

[Red]: EREN.

[Red]: EREN HUNTER.

[Red]: YOUR LAST NAME MEANS HUNTER IN GERMAN. YOU CAN'T HUNT WORTH THE CRAP THOUGH.

[Red]: AND YOU DON'T WRITE CAT BOOKS

[Jeager]: Scarlet. I thought you hated coffee...why do you sound buzzed?

[Red]: I do hate coffee Ironic. Isn't it?

[Jeager]: Very.

[Red]: I do have something to tell you though.

[Jaeger]: What's that?

[Jaeger]: And if it's that Levi Ackerman is a short prick,I'm coming over there and throwing a brink through your window.

[Red]: No,Watson. Your best friend is coming back from Cali next week!

[Red]: MY AR IS COMING HOME

ヾ(＠⌒ー⌒＠)ノ

[Jeager]: HOLY SHORT WRITER OF A BOOK.

[Jeager]: ARMIN'S COMING BACK?

[Jaeger]: I've gotta clean his room back out! I've got a lot of shit in there.

[Red]: Levi Ackerman is anything BUT holy,Jeager.

[Red]: YEAH HE'S COMING BACK!

[Jeager]: ALRIGHT THEN. I'VE GOTTA GO. TALK TO YOU LATER

[Red]: CLEAN MORE THAN CORPORAL LANE,BRO. CLEAAAN.

Eren didn't text back,but it showed that he read it. Maybe he would appreciate the book reference.

Maybe not.


	3. Dinner at the Jaeger Household

((AN: This is where things begin to get OOC. I really don't know about Eren's dad,I've only read fan portrayals of him. So take it easy on me,please.))

Scarlet fell asleep texting Armin back and forth that night. Different time zones suck. She had locked her phone after saying something to him,and accidentally fell asleep. Marco would still be taking her shift today,so she had all the time she needed to do whatever.

That meant working on her forgotten painting.

The smell of paint filled the room as Scarlet replaced the white on the tiny canvas with colors.

She was painting the ocean for him.

Scarlet hoped he would realize that this wasn't the world's ocean. No. This painting had their ocean on it. It only belonged to them.

And if not,she would explain it to him.

Around five,she got a text from Eren,making her jump a bit. Thank god her paintbrush wasn't on the painting.

[Jeager]: Mom wants to know if you want to have dinner with us.

[Jeager]: You don't have to.

[Jeager]: ...Please come,Scarlet.

[Jeager]: You'd make this a hell of a lot less awkward.

[Jeager]: Final meal before Dad goes back to work in SC.

[Red]: Yeah. I'll come.

[Red]: I've got your back,Eren.

[Red]: Plus,this gives me ample opportunity to punch your dad in the gut.

[Red]: Then Carla would never invite me back...I'd miss her cooking.

[Red]: Maybe I'll just kick him under the table or something.

[Red]: But yeah. I'll come.

[Jeager]: ...Armin's a lucky guy,Scarlet.

[Red]: Don't get weird,Titan boy.

[Red]: I might not come~

[Red]: Just kidding. I'll be over in a moment or two.

[Jeager]: Okay! Thanks Scarlet!

[Red]: No prob,bro.

Scarlet grabbed her black jacket,yanked a brush through her short red hair,and put on a really small amount of make up. Gotta look nice,right? Even if you have no real reason to be.

Laura groaned as Scarlet came out of the room. "Where in God's name are you going now?"

Scarlet sighed. "I'm going to go help Eren with family issues. Didn't you hear? I'm a therapist now."

Laura sighed,then laughed. "Okay. Go on."

With that,Scarlet ran over to the door and threw it open,running down the stairs. A few people where sitting in the café,Marco washing off a table that someone had been using a moment before.

She slipped past the boy without having to speak to him,stepping out into the street. Scarlet pushed her hands into her pocket,and felt something inside it.

A bill!

Scarlet pulled it out.

A dollar bill.

Where the hell did she get a twenty dollar bill?!

Money gods,thank you.

Scarlet ran back inside,not bothering to return Marco's wave,running past Laura,and opening one of her desk drawers.

There lay a box.

That box had about seven hundred dollars in it.

All saved up for a hurricane day.

Scarlet fiddled with the lock,opening the lid and stuffing the bill in. She slammed the box shut again,locked the top back,and shut the desk drawer.

Hell yeah.

She knew she would be late to Eren's dinner,but raced as fast as she could. Eren was waiting on the porch.

"Could you be any later? Dad's started insulting you and my friend choices." Eren said,green eyes wide.

"Damn. Already? That's a new record for that guy. And I'll explain later. Let's just go?" Scarlet said,gesturing to the wooden door.

Eren nodded,pushing open the thing.

'How nice it must be to live in a real house.' Scarlet thought with a sigh.

"Scarlet! I'm so glad you could make it!" Carla said,a wide smile on her face as she hugged the ginger.

Scarlet hugged her back. "Thank you,Carla. You're very generous to let me come for your dinner."

Carla waved her hand. "It's no problem,dear. Sit!"

Scarlet looked over to the table in the spacious room,where Grisha Jaeger was sitting. He had the world's ugliest glasses. The fact that that was the only thing that Scarlet had to say about the situation at hand was amusing to her,at the least.

Nevertheless,Eren pulled out a chair for her and let her sit down.

The food was amazing,per usual.

Carla could cook like no one's business. Scarlet dug in,but tried to look even the slightest bit proper at the same time.

Carla was the first to speak up.

"So! Scarlet! How are you and Armin doing?" She asked.

Wheew boy.

'You're not around me much,so you're forgiven for not knowing the rules.'

"We're doing just fine. I do miss him a lot though. He said he was coming back next week!" Scarlet said,smiling.

Carla nodded. "Eren told! We're so excited to have him back home."

Scarlet nodded. "So am I."

Grisha coughed a bit,and at the end of it all,Scarlet handed him a napkin.

He took it with a quiet glare.

"Miss Johnson. What are you planning on doing with your life?" Grisha asked.

'You know damn good and well that's not an okay subject,so you get to go drown in a fountain for disobeying the rules.'

"I want to be an artist,Mr. Jeager. I'm self taught,but I think-"

Grisha interrupted her with a snort.

"An artist? What a waste of talent. Now a doctor or something along the lines of that,maybe that would be more acceptable. But an artist?" He said,stabbing into his ham.

"Grisha! Stop it!" Carla scolded,eyes wide.

Wow. Could a man get any more rude?

"Maybe you'd have more talent as a barista. Like your mother."

Yep.

Scarlet dropped her fork,her mouth hanging open.

She pulled herself together with a cough.

"Carla. Thank you for having me. I'm going to be going now." Scarlet stated,rising from the table.

Carla tried to stop her and apologize for her husband's behavior,but Scarlet had heard enough of the man's bullshit for one night.

She pushed her chair back,and made it outside the door and to the sidewalk before she started getting less angry and more upset.

Eren rushed out,hugging the red head around the shoulders.

"Hey. I-I'm real sorry about my dad,okay? I didn't think he was going to be such an-"

"Save it." Scarlet said,sighing and rubbing her eyes. "I'm gonna become an artist and come back here one day and shove a paintbrush so far down his throat that he's going to have to have surgery."

Eren laughed. "I want to be there when that happens."


	4. A Large Order Of Nothing

Eren walked home with her,waving to Marco as he left. Scarlet walked inside,slumping upstairs.

Screw today.

When she made it to her room,she saw Harlock sitting on her desk. No one had called her.

Surprising.

She opened her phone,slowly sitting down on her desk chair.

Call Armin?

No. She didn't have enough energy for that.

[Red]: Ar?

[Lil' Dork]: Yes?

[Red]: I had dinner at Eren's place today. His dad is a prick.

[Lil' Dork]: Oh my god.

[Lil' Dork]: Did he hurt you?

[Red]: No. Well. Not physically.

[Red]: Kinda stung when he told me I'd have more talent as a barista than an artist. Like my mom.

[Lil' Dork]: Oh my god.

[Lil' Dork]: I'm so sorry,Scarlet.

[Lil' Dork]: Don't listen to him.

[Lil' Dork]: I love your art.

[Red]: I told Eren that I didn't give a fuck. And that I was going to prove him wrong.

[Lil' Dork]: Of course you will!

[Lil' Dork]: Your art is amazing,love.

[Red]: Damn right it is.

[Red]: I'm painting something right now.

[Lil' Dork]: Awesome!

[Lil' Dork]: Show it to me when I get home,okay?

[Red]: Absolutely!

[Lil' Dork]: Fantastic.

[Lil' Dork]: Hey,I've gotta go. I love you! See you later!

[Red]: Love you too! Bye!

Scarlet smiled at her phone,biting her thumb. God,Armin was adorable.

The next day was Monday. That meant she had to work again.

Marco gone,and Laura in the kitchen once again.

Scarlet stood at the counter,apron tied twice around her alarmingly slim waist. She was finally reading the book she got,enjoying it immensely. Kyra seemed like a cool girl. Someone Scarlet would love to hang out with.

A girl and a shorter boy walked in,looking at the paintings on the wall.

All done by a Miss Scarlet Johnson.

The girl walked up to the counter,smile wide. She had a skirt and a white t-shirt on.

In the middle of October.

What the hell.

"I'll take a cup of *insert coffee here*" Scarlet sighed,yelling the order back to Laura.

"And for you,bro? I mean...sir?"

The boy sighed.

"I don't want anything."

"A LARGE ORDER OF NOTHING LAURA!"

"GOT IT!"

The boy looked stunned for a moment,then grumbled as he walked over to a table in the corner.

Then,the bell rang again.

"W-" Scarlet stopped herself.

Standing dead set in the middle of the doorway,was Levi Ackerman. In all his short glory.

"A cup of black coffee." He said,walking up to the counter and pushing his jet black hair to the side a bit.

"L-Laura! A cup of plain black coffee!"

Scarlet picked up her phone.

[Red]: EREN. GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE. YOUR AUTHOR IS HERE.

[Red]: I shit you not.

[Red]: *image attachment*

[Jeager]: HOLY-

[Jeager]: I'M ON MY WAY. STALL HIM.

Scarlet looked up to the man.

How do you stall a world famous author?

Hazel Grace,your wisdom would be lovely at the moment.

"Uh. You look a lot like a man who wrote a book my friend likes. I think his name is Levi Ackerman."

Levi looked up. "Yeah. I wrote Attack on Titan. Stop acting like a dumb shit. What about it,brat?"

Scarlet blinked. "Are you working on the next installment? And why the hell did you kill off Lane's entire squad? Even Penny!"

Levi rolled his eyes. "Because I could. It's my book. I could make them all burn in a fire."

Scarlet glared. "Spare that Alex kid. He's a lot like my boyfriend."

Levi's dead expression broke for a moment,a ghost of a smile appearing on his face.

"Your friend,eh? You told him I was here,didn't you?"

Scarlet nodded.

Levi rubbed his head,smile fading. "Fuck you. You know that? Fuck you."

Scarlet smiled. "Thank you. It's an honor to be told that by a writer such as yourself."

Eren burst through the door,panting.

Levi's dead expression returned. "No. Whatever you're going to ask me to do,no."

Eren snapped a picture with his phone,then left.

Levi sighed.

"Sir? Have you ever considered turning your books into a graphic novel? If so,I'm an artist in training,and I'd love to work on your project."

Scarlet scribbled her number on a napkin,then handed it to Levi.

A moment later,Laura rushed out with the black coffee.

"I really could have done without coffee. Upon reflection. I didn't need this shit today." Levi sighed,grabbing the napkin and the coffee,walking out of the store.

Scarlet smiled. Man. That guy was a PRICK.

After cleaning and closing up,Scarlet decided to walk to the nearest Wal-Mart for a rousing game of "You Want It. You'll Never Have It."

Tis' not a fun game.

Scarlet made her way to the store,the doors parting for her as if she was important and going to buy something.

The food section.

Exotic things she couldn't try.

Wouldn't get the chance to.

Seven hundred dollars she had already told herself she couldn't touch.

God damn it.

She had fifteen dollars. Fifteen dollars from working at at the café.

Art sets? Canvas?

No.

Not enough money for that.

Food. Coffee. Tea.

Fifteen Bucks.

Scarlet struggled with the groceries,setting them down on the table upstairs. She put the coffee and tea downstairs,and kept the apples and bread upstairs.

Laura had shut herself inside her room. But at least the pile of bills on the table disappeared. She paid them at last.

Scarlet put the apples and bread up. Harlock had managed to squeeze out of her room,because he was circling around Scarlet's feet. Strange. Laura never messed with her room,and Scarlet always closed the door.

Scarlet closed the cabinet door and opened the kitchen door long enough for Harlock to get out. She crossed to her room,opening the door.

Maybe she hadn't closed the door in the first place.

It was entirely possible.

That or Harlock was being a real ghost captain and snuck out.

Harlock plopped down on his bed.

Scarlet had stitched the word,"Arcadia" onto his bed a long time ago.

Eren texted her about a million times.

[Jaeger]: HOLY

[Jaeger]: I MET LEVI FUCKING ACKERMAN.

[Jaeger]: Well actually I just busted in and took a picture of him and you.

[Red]: I gave him my number.

[Jaeger]: YOU DID WHAT.

[Red]: I want to draw Attack On Titan. As a graphic novel or something. Maybe even a manga

[Jaeger]: You're amazing.

[Red]: I know. :)


	5. Wandering

((AN: You Guys are great! Thank you so much! This chapter is basically just a filler,but I promise the next one will compensate. I really enjoy writing this story,and I hope I do with it what you want me to. Anything you have to say about it is welcomed as long as it's not rude. Have a wonderful day!))

Levi Ackerman was either a slow responder,or he threw the napkin away.

It had been two days,and no word from him.

Scarlet sat on the counter of the store,curled up reading the book. Kyra was going to crash the car. She just knew it.

Suddenly,the bell to the door rang.

Scarlet turned and fell off the counter,groaning lightly as the book smashed her finger.

"Yo! Red! You got any tea?" An oddly familiar voice called.

No. Way. Scarlet's eyes widened as she stood up.

There stood a girl,really tall to Scarlet. She had dirty blonde hair with dark azure eyes. A wide smile dotted her face.

Elizaveta!

Scarlet nearly blew a gasket.

"Elizaveta! I missed you so much! Come here you little derp!" Scarlet yelled,hopping over the counter and hugging the blonde.

"Whoa. I missed you too! But I'm back from who knows where!" Elizaveta said,her smile never faltering.

"B-But where...did you go?" Scarlet asked,her eyes wide.

"Like I said,to Who Knows Where." Elizaveta said,as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "A place with no cell service,might I add. And they talked really weirdly. It was English. Just...weird English."

Scarlet laughed. "God I missed you."

Elizaveta rolled her eyes. "I missed you too." She looked around. "Is Armin home yet."

Ouch.

"No. But he's coming back soon." Scarlet said softly.

"Oh." Elizaveta replied,stuffing her hands into the pockets of her jacket. "Well. I've got to go home and say hi to my parental units. Text me later,okay?"

Scarlet nodded. "Of course. Bye!"

Elizaveta waved and exited the shop.

Scarlet smiled as she saw her friend walk out of view,then sighed.

She had missed Elizaveta. The girl was her best friend next to Eren.

The girl wrote quite a bit,and began traveling at the young age of 18. It was safe to assume she had more experience with writing about other countries.

Scarlet remembered fondly the times they would sit up for hours drawing and writing together. Elizaveta would write a beautiful story,and Scarlet would illustrate it in the best way she could.

Now that she was back,it could all start again!

After work,Scarlet grabbed her phone from upstairs,and the keys, and left.

She started down the sidewalk,hoping to get to the bookstore before it closed. Heaven knew she didn't have any money to spend at the moment,but she could read a few pages of a book she might get in the future.

As her broken,tattered black boots hit the concrete,she listened to the sounds they made.

Click,click,click.

She did this often,just to focus on something. Her mind tended to wander off to Armin when not occupied with something else.

As Scarlet approached the book store,her heart sunk when she saw the sign.

"CLOSED FOR THE WEEK."

What is this life?

Scarlet groaned.

"How is the only bookstore in this entire godforsaken town,closed? On Monday?" She said out loud to no one in particular.

She wandered around the block,seeing as she didn't want to go home,stepping into the park.

Kids of all ages ran about,falling over,screaming,ect.

Scarlet quickly scaled a tree,hoping to be free of the noise. If only for a moment.

And it was six thirty in the afternoon.

Who the crap lets their kids play at a park on a school night...at six?

Scarlet quietly pondered about this before pulling out her phone.

[Red]: So many kids here at 6:30pm. It's weird.

[Jaeger]: Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts must have let out for the night.

[Red]: Oh yeah.

[Red]: God I'm an idiot.

[Jaeger]: Gimme a second. Someone's at the door.

[Red]: Okay.

Scarlet set the phone down in her lap,not noticing the sun's height.

[Jaeger]: *Image Attachment*

[Jaeger]: ELIZAVETA'S HOME!

Scarlet smiled. The picture was just Elizaveta holding the camera and smiling with Eren.

[Red]: I know!

[Red]: She's coming back and so is Armin!

Scarlet didn't get a reply,so she jumped down from the tree and began to walk home.

Still no response.

Hmm. Strange.

She unlocked the cafe door,then locked it back behind her,walking up the steps.

Laura was sitting in the living room,reading one of the books Scarlet had gotten.

The Fault in Our Stars.

Scarlet looked over to see what part Laura was at.

Aw.

She didn't even know about Augustus yet.

How cute.

Scarlet sighed,walking to her room.

Her phone pinged,a sign someone had something to say at last to her.

[Jaeger]: Mom's going with Dad to the airport.

[Jaeger]: She says she's not going to be home tonight.

[Jaeger]: Want to come over with Elizaveta?

[Red]: You better bet your life! I'll be over in a second.

Scarlet grabbed her old book bag,looking inside at the untouched books and binders from her senior year. Damn things took her forever to get.

She pulled them out,setting them on top of her desk. Scarlet grabbed a set of sleep clothes and an extra pair of clothes for tomorrow,putting them in the bag instead of the Binders of Death.

A knock sounded on the door,and Scarlet stuffed the bag under her bed.

"Scarlet. I'm going to run down to the laundromat and wash some clothes. You got any?" Laura asked,opening the door.

Scarlet nodded and handed her some clothes,hoping to satisfy her older sister.

She left,accepting Scarlet's offering.

Scarlet moved over to the window,watching the blonde can ihawoman disappear with a bag of clothes.

Grabbing her bag short and her phone (plus the charger,duh),Scarlet went down the steps to the cafe,opening the door to the sidewalk.

Then she remembered.

My shift tomorrow!

She mentally face palmed herself.

You idiot! That's an important thing NOT to leave out of your calculations!

With a quick stride,she stepped into the cafe.

One way or another,she was getting over to Eren's.

Marco's number was taped onto the fridge in the back room,along with the fire department's number and all that jazz.

Scarlet fished her phone from her bag and entered the number into her phone.

In mere moments,she was calling the boy.

"Hello?" A shy sounding voice asked on the other end of the line. "Who's this?"

"It's Scarlet? You work for my older sister."

"Oh! You're Scarlet! Hi! How are you?"

Scarlet smiled to herself.

"Very good. But I have a favor to ask of you."

"Sure! Fire away!"

Scarlet bit her lip. What if he got really upset about this? What if-

Ohhh no.

You stop that shit right now,head.

"Could you come in tomorrow? I'll pay you if you'd like,but I really need someone to take my shift."

"Oh! Sure!"

Score!

"...But why?"

Um.

"I'm staying at a friend's house. I need to talk with them for a while. She just got back."

That was an effective way to answer,she thought.

"Oh. Okay. I'll come in tomorrow. And only pay me part time,okay? This wasn't even my day to work. It feels weird getting paid."

"Okay! Thank you Marco!"

"No problem!"

Doot-Doot.

The call ended.

Scarlet smiled happily,stepping out of the room and running out into the sidewalk.

"Yeah!" She whispered to herself,silently praising her wit and inventiveness.

To Eren's house we go.


End file.
